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Dear Jack: Easter 2016 at The Shell House

5 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack: Easter 2016 at The Shell House

Dear Jack,

This makes our first Easter as a family where we didn’t travel to Nonna and Papa’s house in Alabama to celebrate. With Mommy being 8 months pregnant, she isn’t currently able to be in the car for that long of a trip.

Dear Jack: Easter 2016 at The Shell House

I never thought of it until this weekend, but this also made the first Easter for our family where I was responsible for hiding the eggs. So I obviously had fun hiding them in our backyard.

When you discovered your Easter basket, you immediately thanked and hugged Mommy and me.

I responded, “But what about the Easter Bunny?”

You instantly replied, “No, it was you and Mommy.”

I didn’t argue with you. Smart kid you are.

Mommy is such a good gift-giver. She found a very appropriate book for you: I’m a Big Brother.

Plus she got you another owl to match the one you got for Christmas. And she found some dinosaur eggs that dissolve in water and leave behind a dinosaur toy.

I know it sounds random, but she even got you a “bath bomb” for bath time. You love that kind of stuff these days!

Not to mention, there were one dollar bills in some of the eggs, plus a five dollar bill in the golden egg. So thanks to Grandma’s $2 bill she sent in the mail, you are now $14 richer.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HLIZ0AE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1

As far as candy, we did get you some of the traditional stuff, but you were just as excited about the Annie’s Homegrown snacks in your basket too.

http://www.annies.com/

Another first for this Easter, this made the first time, as a kid, you’ve ever gone to the main church service with us; at The Church at Station Hill. You love your Pre-K class that takes place while Mommy and I are in the main auditorium, but today, all the kids remained with their parents.

http://www.annies.com/

I’m pretty sure you thought it was neat. The story was fresh on your mind as I read the Easter story to you from your children’s Bible yesterday before your nap.

http://www.annies.com/

If nothing else, you got to work on an activity sheet where you had to help Mary through a maze to find the empty tomb of Jesus.

What a great Easter day for our family. And imagine, by next Easter, you’ll have a nearly one year-old baby sister!

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Easter 2016 at The Shell House

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Dear Jack: We’ll Definitely Be Dangerous… We Just Won’t Get Hurt

5 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack:

Dear Jack,

I suppose it’s safe to say a new weekly ritual is in full swing. This makes the 3rd weekend in a row where you and I have gone exploring in the surrounding neighborhoods, using a creek that begins in our backyard
as our road.

Dear Jack:

Before Mommy left the house to get her “pre-going into labor haircut” and then to Kroger to buy groceries, she smiled and told me, “Be safe. Don’t be dangerous out there.”

I smiled back and promised her,

“Oh, we’ll definitely be dangerous- we just won’t get hurt.”

About 20 minutes later as you and I were about to turn out of our neighborhood in my Honda Element, I asked you, “Jack, where you want to explore today?”

Dear Jack: I Will Be Serving as Your Guide to Danger and the Unknown

We decided to pick up where we left off last week, this time following the creek in the opposite direction. You quickly found the wooden plank you discovered and left behind on Sunday, deciding to take it with us for today’s entire journey.

The plank served three purposes:

#1. A shovel to help you make “chocolate milk” in the creek.

https://familyfriendlydaddyblog.com/2016/03/24/dear-jack-our-new-canon-powershot-g7-x-camera/

#2. A portable table to help you see your instantly growing rock collection.

Dear Jack:

#3. A bridge to help you get across the creek when you didn’t feel like jumping.

https://familyfriendlydaddyblog.com/2016/03/24/dear-jack-our-new-canon-powershot-g7-x-camera/

The further down the creek we trekked, the more exciting and potentially dangerous things became.

You had to make your way across the rocks and the water of the creek by depending on half-rotted boards that were already placed there by other adventurers.

Dear Jack: I Will Be Serving as Your Guide to Danger and the Unknown

And then when we finally came across a more legitimate bridge, even it was crooked; like something from a cartoon movie.

Dear Jack: I Will Be Serving as Your Guide to Danger and the Unknown

Even as I’m telling you this now, it sounds like some kind of weird dream we both experienced.

When we go exploring together, we never really know what surprises await us. Well, fate would have it that we just happened to be aligned with these two tunnels leading up to the bank of a pond…

Dear Jack: I Will Be Serving as Your Guide to Danger and the Unknown

So we crawled through one. Once on the other side, you found an old pumpkin there in the water. I’m not sure why, since this is March, not November.

Dear Jack: I Will Be Serving as Your Guide to Danger and the Unknown

After that, we clumsily journeyed back to the street and found my car; you were exhausted by that point. But we still had about 45 minutes before Mommy would be home, so I talked you to in to letting me take you on a drive.

Dear Jack: I Will Be Serving as Your Guide to Danger and the Unknown

You and I have wondered for over a year now, since we moved to Spring Hill, about that that big blue water tower we had been seeing in the distance.

So we checked it out.

Dear Jack: I Will Be Serving as Your Guide to Danger and the Unknown

We were high up enough where we could even see our own neighborhood and church.

I’m glad you like exploring as much as I do. I suppose it’s becoming a mutual hobby for us.

And though we were slightly dangerous the whole time, we came back home to Mommy without any injuries.

Love,

Daddy

 

5 Comments Posted on parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Our New Canon PowerShot G7 X Camera

5 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack: Our New Canon PowerShot G7 X Camera

Dear Jack,

Last weekend you and I got to test out our brand-new camera: a Canon PowerShot G7 X.

We picked up right where we left off from the weekend before, when we followed that creek to the treehouse.

Whereas my new toy was the camera, your new toy was a gift card holder, which is a functioning toy tractor from Tractor Supply Company.

j1

You made it your mission to run that red tractor through the water and soot in the creek. I served as your camera man.

I love our new camera. The camera I’ve been using for the past 4 and a half years up until this point was the 2011 version of the Canon PowerShot, which was only 12 megapixels.

Dear Jack: Our New Canon PowerShot G7 X Camera

Apparently that’s my favorite brand. I find it very user friendly and absolutely durable. Mommy and I dropped the last one several times and it never damaged the camera at all.

With the upgraded version, we now have 20 megapixels, plus a 1 inch sensor which causes the background to blur; giving the images a more professional look.

Dear Jack: Our New Canon PowerShot G7 X Camera

(Thanks to Best Buy for their educated staff, who were able to enlighten me!)

With your sister Holly scheduled to be born in less than a month, and with you starting Kindergarten this fall, Mommy and I figured it was the right time for a new camera.

j4

As for our journey in the neighborhood walking park a few neighborhoods away from us, we trekked on far enough to discover a really cool school playground.

Dear Jack: Our New Canon PowerShot G7 X Camera

Now that we’ve been exploring the surrounding neighborhoods for the past couple of weekends, I have a feeling this will be the norm for us; that we will try to squeeze in an exploring journey whenever we can.

While Mommy’s taking care of the baby this summer, I’ll be there to guide you to excitement in the great outdoors.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: Our New Canon PowerShot G7 X Camera

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Dear Holly: The Concept of Getting Sleep While We Still Can

34 weeks.

Dear Holly: The Concept of Getting Sleep While We Still Can

Dear Holly,

While I know good and well there is no such thing as proactively making up for all the sleep I’m going to lose when you are born, by sleeping more now, I still attempted it anyway.

Last week when Grandma was in town from California, Mommy and I were able to get to bed by 9:00 each night, since Grandma sped up our nightly routine. With her doing dishes and cleaning up afterwards, it added an extra free hour to our night; which we as the parents used for sleep.

However, this process simply reinforced to me how I am physically wired: I get more exhausted when I get 8 hours or more of sleep every night.

So for a week, I slept much more than I’m used to: I usually sleep about 6 and a half hours each night.

That extra 90 minutes per night was not a good thing for me.

This week I switched back to about 6 hours of sleep per night, and now I feel great!

I feel so well-rested, energized, and aware of life. I am in a great mood. Whereas last week with all the sleep, I was so groggy.

So while I obviously recognize that my sleep schedule will be greatly reduced when you are born next month, and it will remain that way for months to follow, I’m actually basically ready for that chaos.

As for Mommy, her sleeping needs are different than mine. She can’t function like I can if she goes to bed at midnight; she’s often falling asleep by 9:00 at night anyway.

In the end, there’s no true way to prepare for the sleep we will lose when you are born, but it’s no big deal.

I’m not worried about it. I’m just glad you are healthy and going to be here shortly.

Love,

Daddy

P.S. You are 34 weeks old in the womb this week… while I’m 34 years-old outside of the womb.

6 Comments Posted on parenting, People, Uncategorized

Dear Holly: Your Newest Sonogram Pictures

33 weeks.

Dear Holly: Your Newest Sonogram Pictures

Dear Holly,

This week our family went to Mommy’s newest check-up at Vanderbilt; even Grandma got to go with us because she is in town right now from California.

To our surprise, one of the newest sonogram pictures was 3-D. Your brother Jack immediately responded as we all saw the picture for the first time, up on the giant TV monitor:

“That picture is creepy. It’s an old rock man.”

While it’s always great to see new pictures of you, the most important thing is that the technician confirmed you are looking real good. In other words, you are a healthy baby.

We have prayed every night as a family for your health. So we didn’t take it for granted to hear that you are doing well.

On a lighter note, the technician explained to us that your butt is up high at the “top” of Mommy’s baby bump; which explains why Mommy keeps getting poked in her right side, that’s your elbows and hands.

Plus, she confirmed you are (still) a girl. I admit that Mommy and I had doubts in the backs of our minds that we might be that family who learned they were actually having the other gender baby.

But no, we won’t have to be repainting the room or changing out your wardrobe. We specifically asked the technician, and she officially confirmed, “Yep, it’s still a girl inside there.”

Dear Holly: Your Newest Sonogram Pictures

Speaking of your bedroom, with Grandma in town, your room is a little fuller.

There is now a really cool lamp that perfectly matches the hair ribbon holder, which also matches the bird decals on the walls.

And I obviously am proud of the outfit Mommy picked out for you this week: Daddy’s Sweetheart.

We now officially can say you will be born next month. April 21st is just 7 weeks away.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: Your Newest Sonogram Pictures